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Fraud in Real Estate, Mortgages & Homebuilders

Posted on August 17, 2008

An article in the weekend WSJ got me thinking about Real Estate related frauds of all kinds. Titled FBI Probes Unusual Incentives for Home Buyers, it looks at whether the homebuilder's incentives, if not properly disclosed to a 3rd party mortgage underwriter, was a form of fraud: When home sales began to slow at the start of the downturn, home builders offered buyers incentives -- instead of reducing prices -- to stimulate demand. The incentives included cars, tuition and credit-card payments, and even cash.A sign is posted in front of a bank-owned home that is for sale in Richmond, Calif....

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housing , online , real estate market , system